Electric

VW to Electrify Commercial Trucks in Europe

Volkswagen Truck & Bus revealed the e-Delivery truck and announced additional green initiatives at Innovation Day in Hamburg, Germany.Photo courtesy of Volkswagen.

Volkswagen has developed a new battery-electric powered distribution truck and is working on additional electric solutions for medium- and heavy-duty distribution transport for the European market.

Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which includes brands such as MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, and RIO, revealed the e-Delivery truck and announced additional green initiatives at Innovation Day in Hamburg, Germany. The automaker’s e-Delivery truck is designed to improve sustainability in the delivery of goods. Meanwhile, further initiatives are also being implemented to find alternative ways to electrify heavy-duty trucks to accommodate range and load capacity for long-haul traffic.

The e-Delivery truck will be developed in Brazil and will roll off assembly lines in 2020. Volkswagen will commit approximately $1.7 billion by 2022 for the continued development of the technology, which will also include autonomous systems and cloud-based software, according to Bloomberg.

Volkswagen also announced that it was working on how autonomous driving can make the transportation of goods more sustainable. Efforts such as these will curb, fuel consumption and decrease accidents, VW says. Volkswagen Truck & Bus Group is also actively advancing connected driving in transportation across all modes of transport to connect the entire supply chain and achieve the greatest efficiencies, according to the company.

Electric

Automakers are increasingly debuting new vehicles and technology at CES, and this year will be no different, especially for Mercedes-Benz. The German automaker will show its new CLA sedan, EQC battery-electric SUV, and Vision Urbanetic cargo van concept at the show, which from from Jan. 8-11.

Infiniti will show an electrified concept crossover at the Detroit auto show in January, as it celebrates 30 years of producing vehicles and moves toward producing battery-electric crossovers and sedans.

Electrify America will invest another $200 million toward the development of zero emission vehicle infrastructure and education, which is the second investment from the company that was approved by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).